# sparse_ranges
Efficient sparse range set operations for Rust, particularly designed for HTTP range requests and file offset management.
## Overview
`sparse_ranges` is a Rust library that efficiently represents and manipulates sparse ranges - non-contiguous sets of integer ranges. It's especially useful for handling HTTP range requests and managing file offsets where you need to work with multiple, potentially overlapping or adjacent byte ranges.
The library provides:
- Efficient storage of non-overlapping ranges
- Automatic merging of overlapping or adjacent ranges
- Operations like union, difference, and intersection
- Parsing and generation of HTTP Range headers (with the `http` feature)
- Chunking functionality for processing large ranges in smaller blocks
## Requirements
This library requires a nightly Rust compiler due to its use of the experimental `btree_cursors` feature from the 2024 edition. To use this library, ensure you have a recent nightly version of Rust installed.
The `#![feature(btree_cursors)]` attribute is used to enable experimental APIs for working with BTreeMap cursors, which provides efficient range manipulation capabilities.